Replay
by XavierForest
Summary: Currently being rewritten
1. Prologue - Lonliness

**Prologue – Loneliness**

Grape-coloured eyes studied the hunched figure for what could have been hours on end. They noted that not once in all that time did the human move, their owner vaguely wondering exactly how long it'd been there, simply sitting and staring off into the distance.

It all made for a beautiful scene; if he were in to art, maybe he would have wanted to paint it. So far hidden from the world in that forest were they that not even the sky was visible, only the slivers of light that shone down through the trees allowing him to see the hooded person atop the huge moss-covered boulder. Though, this place did indeed lack a forest's norm; no birds sung their songs as they flew through the air; no rabbits dashed away from attacking predators; no deer drank at the stream mere metres away, only faintly babbling as if it, too, wanted to preserve the unnatural quiet of it all.

He was musing on these thoughts when a tired voice broke the silence, rough from disuse. "How long are you going to stand there?"

Startled, his heart thumped against his chest, its rhythm only quickening when his eyes met a pair that seemed so old; it was like they'd seen and lived all this world had to offer "You… you're _him_ … right?"

"It depends on who you mean by 'him'. I admit to being male, but for all I know, it could be someone else you're looking for," the figure drawled, voice monotone.

"I'm looking for you; no one else would be all the way out here," the man reasoned, standing his ground, despite how being under this human's timeworn gaze made him feel uncomfortably exposed.

The human shifted, the beginnings of a smile at the corners of its lips. "What do you want with me, then?"

"I…" He licked at his lips, sweating nervously. He only had one chance at this. "I want to make a deal."

The smile dropped. "No."

"You didn't even ask wh-"

"I don't make deals anymore," the hooded person growled, drawing back in on itself and curling into a ball. It didn't want this. Gone were the days where it would make those damned deals that always ended in blood.

"Then call it a bet!" He tried. This _had_ to work. This person here would be their saviour; they just needed him on their side.

This caught the figure's interest, and it motioned for the man to continue.

He'd known that would work. All that research he'd done hadn't been for nothing; all he had to do was press the right buttons.

"My name is Komui Lee," he introduced himself, tacking on a smile to disarm the figure, "and I'm currently the deputy principal at the _Black Order of Innocence_. It's an academy for inhuman beings."

"'Inhuman beings'?" The human's voice held a notable dubious tone, as if it was _really_ being expected to believe such a thing. "Are you referring to werewolves or something?"

"Well, werewolves _are_ one of the races we let in," he admitted with a nonchalant shrug.

"Are you alright? Like, in the head?"

Komui pushed his glasses back up his nose from where they'd slipped earlier, a brow raised. "Considering the kind of things _you've_ seen, can you really find it so hard to believe me?"

"I don't believe in what I can't see with my own eyes." The hooded figure believed in a lot of things, but this… it was stupid.

'Inhuman Beings'? As if he could believe in that. Though, that man was right about something. After all these years of wandering, some of the things he'd seen… they did support the purple-haired man's claims.

"Then why don't you come by?"

"And do what?" The figure yawned. It was too early in the morning for all this…

"Enrol!" Komui answered cheerily, that grin on his face not diminishing in the slightest.

The human chuckled wryly, staring down at the other with perhaps a little interest. That happiness hadn't at all appeared false, but there was something _more_. There _had_ to be a catch. "I'm far too old to be enrolling in an academy for children."

At that, Komui's hands went to his hips, as if he'd caught the lie of a child. "But you won't be soon."

The figure started, and then grinned. "My, you _are_ well-informed."

"So? What do you say?"

His question was met with silence. The figure hadn't a clue what to do. On one hand, it didn't want to be caught up in the delusions of a madman, but on the other…

It sighed, the sound lost as the wind rustled through the trees, though barely heard at all.

"Think about it," Komui tried again, having trouble hiding his _desperation_. "If you agree… well… I guess I'll be seeing you in a decade or so." They couldn't wait too long… this had to end sometime within the century… or else…

"You'll be an old man by then," the human mumbled into its knees.

"How rude! I'm only twenty! And besides, supernatural beings like myself are immortal; I'll be looking like this forever!" Komui said with pride, a hand on his chest.

The figure's hooded head raised as something the man had said clicked in its mind. "Fine." It agreed, albeit reluctantly. "If I see you in my next cycle and you still look like that, then maybe I'll consider believing you."

"Splendid!"

"I do have one question, though." A pause. Then- "What are the rules for this little bet of ours?"

Komui smiled, relieved. "We'll talk about the details next time we meet." He saw the human's lips purse and raised his hands innocently. "Don't be like that! Besides, I know for a fact that you'll like the school!"

"Sure," The human drawled sarcastically, little by little becoming more relaxed while he spoke. Actually, when had it last spoken to another living person? It had to have been decades by now… surely…

"… mother is pregnant, you know." Komui had started talking again at one point, but the other had been too lost in its thoughts to really listen in. "Maybe you can befriend my younger sibling! And then you won't have to be stuck out here all alone anymore."

Dull chrome eyes widened, a sight lost to Komui due to the lack of light.

Those words… how long had it been since it'd last heard them? Only, this time, the context was completely different…

"Oh!" Komui stared up at the figure, leaning forward with eyes wide behind his black-rimmed glasses. "I almost forgot! You haven't told me your name yet!"

"I'm…" The figure went stiff, mouth hanging open as the words died on its tongue.

Name? What was it again? How many centuries… how long had it been? It was a simple name… it _should_ have been a simple name… maybe a couple letters… or more…

This was awkward. The silence between them was growing. The human could actually see the excitement dimming in Komui's eyes as the silence continued.

Dammit!

Why couldn't…

Wait.

Wasn't it…

"A…llen…?"

That name sounded about right…

"I… my name… is 'Allen'."

Yes.

That was it.

It was the name of a monster.

It was the name of a _murderer_.

…

 _I'll update this when I can, but my main focus is on 'Days of Destruction' and 'The Taste of Freedom'_


	2. Chapter 1 - Bet

**Chapter One – Bet**

 _Leather restraints that were merciless to the skin, coupled with the friction between the two left chafe marks on my mismatched wrists and pale ankles._

 _Not that I cared._

 _The pain working its way around inside of me was far worse._

 _My chest felt like it was being crushed beneath the weight of something far beyond my comprehension, my fingernails as if they were individually being pulled off repeatedly, my throat as if I were being forced to drink acid, my eyes as if they had been gouged from their sockets, my limbs as if they were being eaten by millions of tiny insects all at once._

 _It was excruciating and all consuming._

 _Even breathing was a difficulty by this point._

 _And what I saw during all that pain was naught but a pinprick of light, no more than a speck, that hovered before me. Suddenly it was expanding and growing at a rapid pace, becoming so blinding that it was all I could do to not scream out in agony as my retinas burned, and yet I could not look away. The sight held my captive, its torturous beauty entrancing me. I was ensnared by its deadly brilliance. It wouldn't let me go despite how my body begged to be spared. It wouldn't let me go despite how_ wrong _I knew this was._

 _What was being done to me… I was daring to trespass into the realm of the unknown and expecting to come out unscathed… How naïve of me._

 _I of all people knew that wasn't how the world worked._

 _I'd be lucking to be alive after all this._

 _No… I'd be lucky to die…if they allowed it. Doubtful, but I could still hope._

 _The light then grew brighter, if that was at all possible. And then, somewhere from deep within the light, a figure reached out to me, the silhouette of one I'd never met before._

 _I couldn't describe them. Maybe male, maybe female, maybe young, maybe old, long hair, short hair, brown eyes, blue eyes, tall, short. It was all the same._

 _But… this person… a strange feeling blossomed in my heart, something I don't ever recall feeling in what few years I'd lived._

 _The feeling was warm._

 _It drove out the pain._

 _The corners of my lips tugged up at the corners._

 _And that was how it all began._

~o~O~o~

I sat there for a minute of two, staring off into space, body covered over in a thick layer of sweat.

A twisted feeling soon took hold of my heart, an emotion I'd long sing grown used to. "You'd think it wouldn't bother me after all these years…"

I chuckled, the sound dry, hollow, no real happiness behind it.

Then again, I hadn't truly laughed in centuries…

I got out of bed, taking care to do so silently, even if there _was_ no one to wake. I hadn't shared my bed with another since I'd stopped laughing. _Since…_

Reaching out blindly and with a yawn, I grabbed at a spare dress shirt from the floor, taking my time to slip it on and lazily do up the buttons. Since I was already wearing a perfectly clean pair of dark grey jeans, I was practically finished dressing. All that remained was for me to find some socks and shoes.

My trained eyes spotted them quickly, lying by the bedside table where I'd discarded them yesterday afternoon. Plonking down on the bed, I snagged them all, letting my gaze sweep over the ramshackle room as I tugged on the first sock, taking in the aged furniture and listening to the creaking of boards outside pitted up against Mother Nature. I eventually got around to the other sock, tiredly pulling it on.

 _Now for shoes…_

I groaned, only just now realising that if I really _did_ enrol at the school Komui had mentioned two decades ago, I'd be forced into waking up early _every_ day.

I grimaced at the thought.

Slapping both cheeks twice, I snapped myself out from my daze. This would be my first time going to school; the least I could do was try to enjoy the experience while it lasted.

That is, _if_ Komui wasn't a raving lunatic and there was _actually_ a school where I was headed.

With a tired sigh, I threw my -few- belongings -that mainly consisted of clothing and gambled money- into my backpack and zipped it shut.

Zippers were a marvellous invention, really. I mean, back in my day, we'd been stuck with big ugly buttons, drawstring pouches, and bags with flaps of fabric that couldn't properly close.

…

God, that made me sound so _old_.

Rolling my eyes at my own thoughts, I adjusted the straps of my backpack. I had quite the ways to go today; wouldn't want the journey to be spent in discomfort, now would I?

"Time to go," I said to no one in particular, stepping around the rotting door that hung from its rusted hinges, looking at the sight sadly.

No one lived here, not for a long time. The entire populace of this small forgotten settlement had all died out from an outbreak of influenza several decades ago.

Then again, that wasn't really anything new. People always died, it was only natural.

That was just how the world worked.

Life and death were so tightly interwoven that sometimes it was difficult to distinguish between the two.

Corpses became nourishment for the earth, which would then become produce that would then be consumed by those who would later die, and the circle would begin anew.

It was all the same to me.

~o~O~o~

It took me a while to find the village - _I think they're called 'cities' now_ \- and even longer to find the correct forest.

Why oh why were there _three_ of them? And why didn't Komui tell me which one it was?

And so, instead of relying on my near non-existent sense of direction, I'd asked around. It didn't go very well, considering I'd secluded myself away for years, meaning my social skills were severely lacking. I'd subconsciously began using the mannerisms and niceties I'd picked up sometime in the eighteenth century, but I had a nagging suspicion that doing so was only making everything worse. The people in this day and age were nowhere near as polite what I was used to, so they, in turn, weren't used to me.

Anyway, after hours of awkwardness and people avoiding me, I'd found that the Western forest was apparently haunted, so I went with that one.

It was a beautiful place, really, with such lush greenery and seemingly endless foliage. It took less than ten minutes to find the hidden path Komui had once spoken of, though even longer to hike my way along the dirt path, thick vegetation flanking my sides, leaving me with only one way to go, and that way was wherever the path lead.

The sun bright, its rays beating down on me, a blinding orb of light that hurt to look at. That didn't stop me from squinting up at it, brows pulled together to form a frown. Something was wrong.

That's when it happened.

The world _flickered_ , and before I knew it, my surroundings were drenched in blood.

The _path._

The _trees._

My _hands._

Bodies lay strewn about in awkward positions, some propped up, others simply impaled where they'd been left. Limbs were twisted at odd angles, eyes gouged from maggot infested sockets, flies buzzing from where they resided in open mouths.

Something vile and metallic invaded my senses, I could _smell hear taste_ _feel_ it, all of it nearly enough to make me gag, had I not already long since grown used to it. I mean, had I not been the one to spill it daily when given my orders during my youth? Had I not been the monster that mothers told stories of when their children misbehaved?

Instead of backing away or trembling at the sight, as I once would have done, I put one foot in front of the other, wading my way through the ocean of dead, ignoring it all 'til the blood gradually grew translucent, before it gave one final flicker and disappearing in its entirety, taking with it the scent and everything else associated with it, as if it had never been there in the first place.

And it hadn't been there.

All that had been was yet another one of those hellish memories that my mind chose to cling to, never quite allowing me to forget my sins. I hadn't actually seen that nightmarish scene for just under a millennium now, but I would never forget it. That was my punishment, after all. That would be too cruel a thing to all those I'd slaughtered in cold blood.

A sigh escaped me, the sound lost by the chirping of birds and… someone laughing?

A moment later, I saw something peeking out from over the treetops. It was big, maybe a building.

Intrigued, I started up in a light jog, which somehow turned into a heavy sprint until the trees thinned out, and I gasped, looking on with wonder.

 _This is a school?_

The three building seemed… almost gothic in theme, surrounded by even more dense forestry, with the buildings themselves being similar to what I'd grown up with as a proper child, with its large archways, splendid stonework and grand architecture, it really did appear to be like someone had attempted to replicate a fortress of my time, or at least a decade or so off. Only, the windows were… there were so many of them… row upon row of those tiny panes of glass all packed in together in the second largest -yet longest- building.

I needed to get a better look… the buildings were surrounded by a wall, limiting the entry points on this side to one.

Tugging on the ribbon Komui had given to me some years ago, I hesitated. He'd told me that it was an item that would mask my human scent… not that I really believed him or anything… but that hadn't stopped me from hiding it during that life and retrieving it a few months ago.

I still had absolutely no idea whether or not he was crazy.

I guess it didn't matter to me either way; at least I had something fun to do during this life. I couldn't say the same for most of my others…

Staying where I was, I gave my ungloved hands a frown. I know that I didn't care anymore, that I'd grown tired of hiding my hands, and that people could despise me or be repulsed if that was what they wished. It was just… to not wear them felt strange. Though, Komui had assured me that no one at his school would bat an eye at my appearance. It _was_ a school for supernatural beings; he'd told me that oddities were to be expected.

An array of flowers covered the nearby grounds, making way only for the thin winding trail that lead towards a set of imposing double rough iron gates that looked as if they'd been polished recently, and didn't make a sound when I pushed at them, both swinging wide and allowing me entry.

My skin prickled as I walked through, a strange sensation that greatly unnerved me, and that was saying something, considering all that I had seen.

However, that was soon forgotten as I entered a wide open grassy space, surrounded by those high outside walls, yet no roof left one with a clear view of the sky above. Trees dotted the immediate area, casting long shadows of which beneath sat children of all ages, using said shadows as a shield against the sun.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. I really did have to stop calling everyone that, though it wasn't _my_ fault that everyone around me could be considered a child.

Relocating my hands to my pockets, I took in my surroundings with undisguised interest, drinking in the sights.

The path had turned to cobblestone, and branched off towards two buildings, ones that I'd originally thought connected, the tallest one that vaguely resembled a ginormous cathedral, and the shorter one full of windows.

From the looks of it, the third must have been a small storehouse of some kind. Judging by how I could see a baseball bat through the window, it may have been storage for PE equipment or something.

Now that I had a better look, that long building with all the windows was most likely the school's dorms, going by how many young people seemed to be emerging from the door at its lowest level.

Going by how low the sun still was, I'd hazard a guess to say that the time was somewhere around seven ante meridiem, meaning I'd possibly be able to sit in on a few classes. If Komui hadn't lied to me. And he wasn't dead.

Wait… twenty years wasn't _that_ long… he couldn't be dead yet…

"Allen!"

I didn't even see the familiar head of purple running at me until it was too late and I'd been tackled to the ground, two strong arms around me in a vice-like hug. I was honestly surprised to see that his outward appearance had only changed by a year, at the very most. His personality, on the other hand… hadn't fared the same… At least I now had firsthand confirmation that he wasn't dead.

"Brother!" A feminine voice admonished, of which I'd soon realised belonged to a young girl of around my body's current physical age who now stood above up, glaring at Komui. Her eyes were similar to his, perhaps a few shades lighter in colouring, and her long, deep green hair was held up in twin pig-tails.

"My dearest Lenalee!" He crooned, arms now latched around _her_ waist.

Ignoring the…er… growth, she held out a hand, looking somewhat embarrassed by Komui's antics. "I'm sorry about my brother's actions."

 _Ahh, so_ this _is the younger sibling he mentioned._

I took her hand, and the girl helped me up from the ground. "It's fine, really." I turned Komui, hunching over a little with my hands resting on my knees so I could look him in the eye. "Seeing you now, I guess you weren't lying after all."

Behind his glasses, I saw his surprise, and then the thirty-something-year-old _adult_ pouted. "I told you! But would you listen? No!"

"I guess you're not as crazy as I thought you were," I sighed reluctantly, shifting the my backpack into a more comfortable position.

There was a scoff from the side. A long-haired Asian teenager with a mean look in his eye stood nearby, watching us with a scowl. I automatically didn't like the guy; it was just something about that holier-than-thou aura he exuded. His next words did nothing to rectify my opinion. "He's bat-shit crazy."

My eyes narrowed dangerously, chin lifting for to added effect. "I don't recall asking for your opinion," I said haughtily, turning my back to the oriental youth, returning my full attention to Komui, ignoring the first shocked, then outraged glare of the Japanese boy that burned through me. Getting involved in childish squabbles wasn't on my to-do list for today. Or any day, really… "Now about the reason I'm here..."

At that, Komui jumped up off the ground, bouncing in his place excitedly. "Of course! Let's go to my office and discuss your official enrolment~"

I nodded, and as I followed the bundle of energy known to me as 'Komui Lee', I found it hard to ignore the tracking of my movements done by a baleful ice-cold stare.

…

 _And now we've met Kanda~_

 _Isn't he just a bundle of joy?_

 _Oh yeah... and Allen… he's… I feel sorry for this Allen. Why do I always pick on Allen?_


	3. Chapter 2 - Ignored

**Chapter Two – Ignored**

Lavi shook with silent laughter, the hands over his mouth only _just_ muffling the sounds and in no way helping to hide his actual thoughts on what'd happened.

Teeth clenched, my glare shifted from the retreating white-haired figure, to the stupid humanoid salamander elemental before me. "Shut. Up."

He removed his hands, grinning at me like an idiot. "But that's the first time I've ever seen anyone do that! Normally people are too scared to talk to you, but that guy just treated you like you treat everyone else!"

Lenalee stared at me thoughtfully, frowning ever-so-slightly. "It's strange. He was polite to me."

"Maybe he just didn't like Yu-chan's face," Lavi suggested, grin growing while my expression, in turn, darkened. Even if he _did_ know how to read the mood, I doubt he'd ever take that knowledge into consideration and tone down on the… well, _everything_.

"Don't call me that," I spat vehemently, ignoring the rest of his comment.

 _No one_ treated me like that. I wasn't just some run-of-the-mill supernatural being like the rest of these losers; I was a vampire fuck's sake! A pure-blooded, top-class _vampire_. We vampires were the dominating race, and that brat _dared_ to talk to me like that?! It was almost laughable. _I could've snapped that fucktard like a twig!_

I hadn't been able to get an accurate read on him though, so I wasn't completely sure on his species. He could've been an Incubus. Or perhaps a witch. Maybe some kind of undead. If so, he didn't have the _right_ to act so high-and-mighty, especially around _me_ of all people.

I took a long, deep breath, letting my anger simmer within, the sunlight only working to make my low mood spiral further into dangerous territory. Why did mornings have to be so damn _bright_?

"Because that's the whole point of their existence," the red-head said offhandedly, as if having read my mind.

I hated it when he did that.

In reality, it was just him 'knowing me so well that he could tell what I was thinking even in his sleep'. His words, not mine.

Lenalee nudged my forearm, smiling. "C'mon, homeroom begins in ten minutes."

I nodded automatically, casting a quick glance in the direction of which Komui and the brat had disappeared, before following Lenalee and Lavi inside.

The doors, each forming their own side of an arched slab of grey embellished metal, were open wide, allowing us into the large hall, which, despite the cold interior, was actually oddly welcoming.

There were curved marble stairs running along both the right and left sides of the room, leading to the second and third floors, where there would then be another three sets of stairs, two of which were inaccessible to students. No one, not even Lenalee -whose brother was the principal-, knew what was up there; all we _did_ know was that they gave access to the two rarely used vertical towers seen from the grounds.

Those two were slim -still huge, but slim-, with arching paned windows decorating each side, though the third was twice as large, about the same size as the two former towers if they'd been fused together to make one. It still only had two windows, but these were far wider, and made of a darker glass.

That was the library; the Usagi was always going on and on about how Bookman didn't want the sun ruining his books.

~o~O~o~

First period, English, was, as always, a bore.

We were halfway through second period -science with Reever- when Komui entered with the pale little bastard in tow. I didn't bother listening to the introduction, not at all interesting in the kid's name. It didn't matter.

Instead, I glared.

Most likely in sensing me, his searching gaze swept over the classroom. Our eyes met, cobalt and silver, and then he looked away snootily, giving Komui a polite smile.

My temper flared, vision going red. The next thing I knew, my fingers were _in_ the desk, as in they'd gone _through_ the wood, followed soon after by a sharp cracking sound.

Lenalee and Lavi's heads whipped to face me, the two of them looking at me questioningly.

Ignoring them, I pretended as if nothing had happened, acting normal -or at least my version of it-, and when they finally looked away, that was when I surveyed the damage. My fingers appeared to have gone straight through, all five being stabbed at on every side by pieces of broken wood. There was blood. _A lot_ of blood.

Grimacing, I tried to extract my fingers from the desk as soundlessly as possible, hissing under my breath at the pain brought by the wooden splinters buried in my flesh. While it would heal completely within the hour, that didn't mean that I _liked_ the pain. Or welcomed it, for that matter.

Someone said my name, distracting me from my little dilemma.

"Oh! Kanda is the angry Japanese boy sitting in the back row!"

I glanced over at Komui, and then at the brat, somewhat surprised to find him staring at me again, only this time, his nose was all scrunched up and he looked like he'd swallowed something foul.

Now that I had a better look at him, he was probably undead. His skin tone was pallid. As in really, _really_ pale, and not quite white, but more of a cross between ivory and snow.

He had that whole 'dead' thing about him, too; specifically the part where he looked all tired and melancholic, though it was mainly in the eyes. The rest of him was fine, relaxed and carefree, but he had eyes of cold hard steel that told a different story altogether.

I frowned to myself, gaze lingering on the strange scar twisting its way down the left side of his face. _That_ spoke differently to my assumption. It'd healed a pink-ish colour; if he were undead, it would've been more grey or brown in colour.

So that ruled out undead.

His features were soft, bordering on feminine. So… back to Incubus, then?

But he didn't have a tail. And he was showing nowhere near enough skin.

Siren?

It was possible…

By observing his movements, it was clear that his movements held all the grace of a therianthrope, but again, _no tail_ , and his ears appeared normal. There were no animal appendages to be seen anywhere.

The brat moved, taking the seat to my left, the one closest to the window. He sat on the edge of it, gingerly, as far from me as physically possible without falling off. He couldn't have made it any more obvious how much he didn't want to be near me.

I snorted at that. Paying him no attention for now, I cradled my left hand, and then lapped up the blood with my tongue. There was no need for it to go to waste.

Now able to better see what'd happened, I set about to pulling out the out errant pieces of wood one by one. It fucking hurt.

I felt the brat looking at me again.

Biting back an exasperated sigh, I glared at him full force.

"Who's staring _now_ , Moyashi?"

…

 _This is the first time I've written Allen as the conceited one on their first meetings. Normally it's Kanda…_

 _And no, Kanda doesn't burn or sparkle or whatever when faced with sunlight. He just thinks it's annoying. Honestly though, sunlight sucks._

 _But this took longer than expected because by the time I'd finished all I had to say, there were only six-hundred words, which isn't even half of the minimum word limit I've set for myself, so it took me a while to figure out what to put in. There was also that fact that I have four other stories to deal with._

 _You may notice the difference between the Kanda/Allen chapter styles, and that is because they see the world through different views (and Allen is a lot older)._

 _I write better as Allen..._


	4. Chapter 3 - Introductions

**Chapter Three – Introductions**

This high up, I could see it all.

Trees stretched high, pressing close to the building like they were frightened of the sudden drop of the cliff they climbed, salt water spraying in all directions as waves rolled and crashed against the rocks.

It was truly a wondrous sight.

The ocean stretched as far as the eye could see, but with the glass windows shut tight as they were, I couldn't smell a thing. A shame, really, considering how much I enjoyed the scent it gave off. There weren't that many things I liked anymore.

The splendour and grandeur of this place was the same inside as it was out, though, the school wasn't that large, all things considering.

I'd known that the supernatural being community wasn't very big, but this was... odd.

There were fifteen to a class, two classes to a year group, and the year levels taught here went from first grade to senior year, meaning that, in total, there were roughly three-hundred-and-sixty students here at any one time. And this was the only school of its kind, apparently a direct result of human overexpansion. Then again, there weren't very many places to hide a school in this era.

And it was an odd school indeed.

It was from Komui -who was talking animatedly barely two metres in front of me- that I'd learnt all this.

Observing him now, I could see how much these seventeen years had worked to change him. He was more relaxed now, and far less serious than before.

Maybe it had something to do with his sister.

~o~O~o~

I felt someone glaring at me the moment I entered the classroom and Komui pulled me in front of the children. It was an unsettling familiar feeling.

"Everyone, this here is Allen Walker and he'll be transferring here starting today!"

Nodding my head at Komui's enthusiastic words, I let my eyes roam to the back of the classroom, where they were met with two cobalt orbs that seemed content to stare a hole right through me.

 _Damn… That's the brat from this morning…_

I really didn't want to deal with this; there was already enough on my plate as is.

The second after I returned my focus to Komui, something cracked. I elected to ignore it.

"Allen, would you please sit next to Kanda?" The Chinese man by my side asked, smiling widely, a mischievous look in his eye.

I raised a brow at that, and then stared at the students doing the same in turn to me.

 _And I'm supposed to know who that is, how, exactly?_

As if hearing my thoughts, Komui overdramatically clapped a hand over his mouth. "Oh! Kanda is the angry Japanese boy sitting in the back row!"

I repressed the urge to just walk out of here and leave the supernatural world to its own demise -because how old was Komui, really? The bastard was acting like a complete _child_. I mean, sure, to me, he was one, but _come on_!-, and briskly strode down the short isle to the empty desk.

Awkwardly, I sat down at the seat, angling my body away from the Asian boy on my right.

He let out a faint snort that I barely caught.

My fingers twitched to my sleeves, searching for a set of weapons I knew they would not find. I really didn't like being so defenceless here in this school for mythical creatures.

Just because I could be reborn didn't mean I was fine with the pain of dying.

Dying hurt. A lot.

Being burnt alive, being crucified, being decapitated, having my heart stolen -as in actually _ripped out of my chest_ -, having my organs removed one by one… Yeah, it hurt.

I avoided it if at all possible.

Hopefully I wouldn't end up the meal of a werewolf or something…

I sighed, leaning back in my seat.

A few moments later found me peeking across at Kanda-was that his first name or his last name?-, watching as he pulled something from his bleeding fingers.

The blood had me instantly on edge, and my eyes quickly took in the damage to his desk and the grimace on his face.

I curiously watched him as he worked, pushing my hate for him to the side.

How odd. What a stupid way to injure oneself.

"Who's staring _now_ , Moyashi?" He hissed, and I flinched in surprise.

Scowling, I turned to face the front of the classroom.

Komui was already gone; there was a man with sandy hair in his place, and the name plate on his desk identified him as Reever Wenham, a teacher.

I could still feel two separate people watching me: One was the girl from earlier, and the other was the boy with the fiery red hair. The colour reminded me of a certain General I'd worked under during WWII. That man had been a _demon_.

Well, not a real one. He was human, but his personality had left something to be desired.

 _A lot_ to be desired, actually…

~o~O~o~

During break, people crowded around me like I was some sort of free entertainment, asking questions with smiles on their faces and excitement in their voices.

Couldn't they tell that I wanted to be left alone?

I ignored the small part of my mind that told me that this was the reason I was here. To socialise.

This made me very uncomfortable.

I saw that Kanda child watching me, and when he smirked at the predicament I was in, I wanted to punch his pretty face in.

Third period I sat down at the seat I'd been assigned, the teacher droning on being anything but the first thing on my mind.

My thoughts drifted back to my talk with Komui, and how he'd finally divulged the true reason of my enrolment, which was the reason behind my more-than-sour mood right now.

I-I-I-I

" _Do you like the building design?" Komui asked, grinning. "This school has been around for centuries, and since we're such old fashioned beings…" His grin widened. "Well, it's pretty, isn't it?"_

" _Yeah…" I agreed. I had to. How could I not? This place had a nostalgic air to it, though I knew quite well that I hadn't ever been here before; I would've remembered that. Maybe because it was old… I guess even someone who'd lived for as long as I could get homesick._

" _Allen?" Komui's expression mellowed out into a warm smile. "I think you'll like it here."_

 _I wouldn't try to get his hopes up unnecessarily. "Maybe."_

 _He led me to a room stacked with papers. They were everywhere. All over the floor. The desk. The bookcase._

 _It looked as if a bomb had hit and this was the aftermath._

" _Ah! That reminds me!" Komui's glasses glinted manically under the artificial light of the single bulb hanging from the ceiling. "After taking into account your skin colour, sex, physique, diet, and a whole lot of other stuff, I've decided to list you down as a_ Witch _, since we can't come out and say that you're actually a human." He selected a file from his desk and flipped through it, before nodding at something he read and handing the folder to me._

" _Wouldn't it be easier to say that I'm a Warlock or something?" I asked, politely choosing to ignore the state of the room as I took the file from him._

" _We don't have Warlocks. Male or female, the term is_ Witch _."_

 _From what I could see, the documents in this folder were all school related. It was mainly about how I'd have to agree to the school policies, that I'd listen to teachers, would not deface property and so on. I signed the bottom of that particular paper with a pen I'd seized from the floor -though I honestly have no idea as to how I found it with how cluttered it was-. "Then why'd you include_ sex _?"_

 _Komui seemed surprised at the question, but then must have remembered my overall lack of knowledge on the supernatural community. "There are some all-female and all-male races."_

" _Oh…" I turned to the next page in the file._

 _Name. Birthdate. Race. Sex. Age. Special Needs._

…age…

" _Uh…Age?"_

" _Put however old that body is. Do the same for_ Birthdate _." Komui said, waving it off as though signing false information on official school document was no big deal. "I almost considered incubus, but I doubted you'd be up for… acting the way they do to avoid suspicion." He coughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Skin colour was factored in because you obviously couldn't be a werewolf; you're too pale for that. You don't drink blood, so vampire's out, too."_

 _I hummed in understanding as I wrote in_ Special Needs _about my abnormally large appetite. "So, what are the exact conditions of our bet?"_

" _You're to enrol here and keep your true species a secret from everyone. Even the teachers. And if you get found out, then you'll have to stay until you finish your schooling," he said, his words causing me to pause._

" _The teachers weren't informed?" I asked, before ticking off that I had no allergies or major health issues._

 _He shook his head, leaning back in his seat. "It's more fun this way, don't you think?"_

 _Flipping to the next page, I signed it without reading. "There's something you're not telling me." I was suspicious, and rightfully so. This offer was too… What did_ he _get out of it? He wouldn't have sought me out simply to have me enrol in his school._

 _Surprise took hold of his features. It slowly shifted to guilt, guilt to embarrassment, embarrassment to weariness. "Actually… what this is about…"_

 _I set down the last of the papers, observing him curiously. "Komui?" Standing, I reached over the papers on his desk and rested a hand on his stiff shoulder. "Tell me what's going on."_

 _The guilt came back full force, and he looked at me like he was in physical pain. "I want a world… where my sister and her friends can grow up peacefully…" He murmured, gaze turned to his lap. "But… we can't do anything about… It's not…"_

" _Komui?" I repeated, squeezing his shoulder. "What's wrong?" I couldn't_ do _anything if I didn't_ know _._

" _We're having a bit of a problem…"_

" _With?"_

 _He hesitantly met my probing stare, shame present in those kind purple eyes of his. "_ Noah _."_

…

 _Someone mentioned this to me so I'll just remind everyone now: In the first chapter (NOT the prologue), it says that the ribbon Allen wears (the one Komui gave him) masks his human scent. That's why Kanda had problems figuring out Allen's species._


End file.
